writer of craft beer, artisan wine, cocktails, and joyful living

A Saison, A Sour, and A Weasel...?

...walk into a bar. The Saison says to the Sour....if you can come up with a good punch line for this joke, I'll buy you a beer. I already owe Ryan for guessing my favorite flower. One of them anyway!

On a recent trip up to Stone Brewing Co., I sat down with Dr. Bill to discuss and strategize my upcoming 100 beers. 30 days. challenge. Announcement coming next week!! He shared with me a few beer treats:

Green Flash Summer Saison(brewed with orange peel, ginger, & grains of paradise), 4.5% ABV: Bright and vibrant notes of lemon, pink grapefruit, and citrus fruits alongside Asian pear, spice and a rounder baked flaky pie crust. Definite yeast notes on the mid-palate to finish. While I enjoy many beers at room temperature, especially stouts and when making tasting notes, this is a beer best enjoyed cold. It keeps the rounder notes in check and highlights the vibrant citrus. It is called Summer Saison after all!

Oud Beersel Oude Gueze Vielle, 6% ABV: A blend of one, two, and three year old lambics. Liked the nose on this one. Sweet, spiced apple pie with a hint of tart green apple, freshly cut leafy green herbs and lemon, with bread dough in the background. The breadiness becomes more apparent on the palate. A lovely and interesting gueze for a breezy, late summer or fall afternoon.

Mikkeller Beer Geek Weasel, 10.9% ABV: Oh my. So get this....this beer is produced from one of the most expensive and most rare coffees in the world. Made from...hold on to your hats...the droppings of civet cats, a weasel-like creature. Ahem. Insert joke here. I can think of a few right off the top of my head. According to the Mikkeller website, "The fussy Southeast Asian animals only eat the best and ripest coffee berries." So poor ol' workers have to go around and collect their droppings to make this rare coffee. What a job. Can you imagine thinking you are going to work to pick coffee beans, and they tell you, "Actually..." Say what?

Moving on...Pours out like viscous motor oil. You can tell this one is going to be a biggie. A big unexpected herbal noseful. Along the lines of menthol and eucalyptus. You could lineup a shot of the Weasel next to ones of Jaegermeister and Fernet-Branca and see which one wins! And at 10.9% ABV on the Weasel, you almost could. Also substantial notes of coffee, alongside tobacco and the darkest of chocolates.

The aromas carry over into an intense mouthful of coffee, cacao nibs(love those little guys!), and bitter dark chocolate. It's an intense beer. One small helping was aplenty. AND I'm glad I didn't know the story BEFORE I tried it. Just wouldn't have been able to stop laughing long enough.

Ohhhh...and after further research, I discovered...They also scrape the cat's perineal glands (you know where that is? Um, yes, the behind) for one of the most expensive perfumes in the world. What is UP with this cat??? But only small amounts can be used apparently, because it induces vomiting in humans. WHA??